Injuries. Always one of the major stories in pro sports, they shape each season with who they decide to strike down. But never before have injuries been such a huge story so early in the year. Never before have injuries taken down so many vital superstars in such a short period of time.

Two years removed from winning a championship with Team Bantx, and less than a month after being dealt to Team Comahan in hopes that he would bring a championship there, legendary superstar Julius Erving has seen his season--and career--come to an end due to injury. One of the greatest players to ever play the game, Erving announced just a few short days ago that he had been planning on retiring following this season, and that this injury simply sped up the process. Where that leaves Team comahan is to be determined, but they are certainly not as good without The Doctor as they were with him.

But Erving wasnt the only great to have his season ended by injury. Young superstars Larry Bird of Team bigrick and Isiah Thomas of Team DG will both be on the sidelines for the remainder of the year as well, putting both teams in the hunt for a lottery pick. But the bad luck doesnt stop there for Team DG and Team bigrick, as they have also lost Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Kevin McHale for a handful of games, leaving both squads very thin on talent. Incredibly, Team DG has managed to scrape to a 3-3 record, keeping hope alive for when Kareem returns. Team bigrick hasn't been as fortunate, starting out with a league worst 1-5 record. A record that not many believe will improve without Larry Bird.

The team to take advantage of these injuries, just like last season, has been Team nerv, who finds themselves tied for first place at 4-2 alongside the Doctorless Team Comahan and the stacked & always steady Team Fenikz. Meanwhile, the biggest shocker has to be defending champions Team Tackle, who have opened up 2-4 in part due to 4 missed games from James Worthy. One only has to look as far back to last year to see that a 2-4 start can be turned around though, as it was Team Tackle themselves who started off with the very same record, only to rebound and win the championship. We'll see if they can repeat their performance.

With all of the injuries in the first third of the season, it was a relief to see only a few minor injuries in the second third. Moses Malone missing three games for Team fenikz was the most significant injury, with fenikz going 2-1 without him. That one loss (to 6th seed Team Bantx) was their only loss in the middle portion of the season, grabbing Team Fenikz sole possession of the #1 seed, two games ahead of the competition.

One of those teams locked in the 2 spot is Team Comahan, who has survived life without Julius Erving, if only by remaining .500 in the process. The frontrunners for the championship in the preseason, they would likely be happy with just a playoff appearance following the loss of The Doctor.

They aren't the only team doing well without a star player. Team DG, who came into the season with middle of the pack expectations, has overachieved with a 7-5 mark, surprisingly playing winning basketball after losing Isiah Thomas for the season and also playing several games without Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Mark Price. One has to wonder if they can continue playing above their talent heading down the stretch run though. Will they continue this improbable run?

Last year, Team Tackle began the year 2-4, played their way up to 5-7, and then exploded by finishing 10-8 and going on to win the championship. This season they started off 2-4, and have now played their way up to 6-6. Tied for the 4th spot and the final playoff seed, could we see a repeat of last year? Will the defending champions be able to rise up and cement a spot on the playoffs? Or will they be left on the outside looking in, a team full of stars who couldnt outplay lesser talented and injury striken teams?

Injuries in the middle third of the season:

M.Malone (fenikz) 3 Games
M.Price (dg) 2 Games
R.Theus (bantx) 1 Game

Ongoing Injuries:

L.Bird (bigrick) Season
J.Erving (comahan) Season
I.Thomas (dg) Season

The playoffs are set! For the second straight season, the team who selected #1 overall will make the playoffs, this time as the #1 seed as Team Fenikz has been dominant all season long. Starting the year 4-2, theyve gone 10-2 since, and will be looking to follow Team Tackle's footsteps as the second team in as many years to win a championship the year after picking #1 overall in the draft.

But to repeat Team Tackle, they're going to have to beat them in round 1. Barely scraping their way to the four seed (even though they almost blew it by losing their final two games), last years champions now have a chance to defend their crown. In the regular season, it was a no contest between these two teams, as fenikz defeated tackle all three times the two met, showing that their all around game was superior to Tackle's low-post dominated game. Will fenikz be able to repeat his regular season performance? Or will the #4 seed pull off the win?

Our second playoff match is an interesting one. On one hand, Team comahan came into the season thinking championship or bust, having acquired Julius Erving in an off-season trade with Team Bantx. Those hopes were crushed early in the year as The Doctor suffered a career ending injury, leaving the pre-season favorites to play .500 ball for much of the season, though they were able to snag the #2 seed by winning the last game of the season against Team Tackle.

Similarly, Team DG suffered a season ending injury to one of its star players early on, losing Isiah Thomas 6 games into the season. Like Team Comahan, Team DG was able to keep afloat by playing .500 ball and finishing with a 9-9 record, taking the #3 seed from Team Tackle by virtue of a 2-1 regular season advantage over the defending champions. Unlike Team Comahan however, team DG wasnt expected to be in the spot that they're in. Considered to be overachievers, particularly after losing Isiah Thomas and playing several games without Kareem Abdul-Jabaar and Mark Price, Team DG is the cinderella story of the season. Though Team Comahan are the favorites going in, Team DG won the season series between the two squads, making this just as interesting of a series as the #1 vs #4 matchup. Which two teams will move on to play for the NBA Championship?